‘Thirteen In Gaza’ Trailer: Father & Daughter Tale Shot In Devastated Palestinian Territory Won NETPAC Award At TIFF

EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian director Hosam Abu Dan’s father and daughter drama Thirteen in Gaza, set against the backdrop of the devastated Palestinian territory, won the prestigious NETPAC Award in Toronto over the weekend and Deadline can unveil the international trailer.

The film, which world premiered in TIFF’s Centrepiece sidebar, was shot entirely in Gaza with local Palestinian cast and crew under wartime conditions.

It is the first feature-length local production to come out of Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli military campaign, sparked by the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, which has killed close to 74,000 people, injured more than 173,000 people and reduced much of the territory to rubble.

Mary Ziyara stars as 13-year-old Ragha who lost her home and most of her family in a missile attack in the Gaza Strip, opposite Firas Al-Masri as her father.

The pair eke out a life in a crowded displacement camp, with Ragha navigating puberty without safety, privacy and her mother, while her father faces hard choices to ensure their survival.

Abu Dan was unable to make the trip to Toronto for the premiere. The festival left their allocated front row seats empty and the director addressed the audience via a pre-recorded video address.

“Honestly I wish I could have been with you in this moment… to have watched the film on the big screen, to see the birth of Thirteen in Gaza, a film I can only compare to my first child,” he said against the backdrop of a pile of rubble. “For it to be born while I am far from it, it’s a hard feeling.”

Abu Dan emphasized the fact the film had been shot in Gaza with an entirely local cast and crew, noting the production had overcome obstacles at every turn.

“One of the hardest situations is that on the fourth day a nearby strike hit us and one of our colleagues was seriously injured,” he said. “After that I started asking myself what it means to have a drama come out of Gaza after a long war and a long absence of dramas coming out of Gaza. Then I realized this film was made with blood.”

It is the first feature film for Abu Dan after short film Six Miles Out and documentary Gaza Sound Man. The production was made with the support of the Doha Film Institute and the Arab Culture Fund. Mad World handles international sales.